Gun rights supporters – many carrying rifles and ammunition – gathered at state capitols across the US Saturday to push back against efforts to pass stricter gun-control laws.
From Delaware to Wyoming, hundreds gathered at peaceful protests to listen to speakers who warned that any restrictions on gun ownership or use eventually could lead to a ban on gun ownership, which is guaranteed under the Second Amendment.
‘If you have a building and you take a brick out every so often, after a while you’re not going to have a building,’ said Westley Williams, who carried an AR-15 rifle as he joined about 100 people braving blustery weather in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a pro-gun-rights rally in front of the state supreme court building.
An armed Andrew Norris, of Monroe, Ga.,participates in a gun-rights rally at the state capitol, in Atlanta Saturday
Brock Peterson of Cheyenne covers his heart, his custom AR-15 rifle across his chest during a pro-Second Amendment rally, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in front of the Wyoming Supreme Court in Cheyenne, Wyo. About 100 people took part including a handful openly carrying firearms
Ellen Harmon attends the Connecticut Citizens Defense League’s ‘Rally for Our Rights’ in support of gun rights at the Connecticut State Capitol Saturday
Shaun Baby, of Cartersville, Ga., participates in a gun-rights rally at the state capitol Saturday. About 40 gun rights supporters have gathered for one of dozens of rallies planned at statehouses across the US
A man holds a Come and Take It flag during a pro gun-rights rally at the state capitol, Saturday in Austin, Texas
Mead Russell West poses with a copy of the U.S. Constitution at a gun rally Saturday in front of the Wyoming Supreme Court in Cheyenne, Wyo
Dave Gulya, one of the organizers of a rally in Augusta, Maine, said about 800 people showed up at the statehouse – a gun-free zone – to make the point that ‘we are law-abiding.’
Saturday’s protests were planned in dozens of state capitols less than three weeks after hundreds of thousands marched in Washington, New York and elsewhere to demand tougher gun laws after the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17.
Organizers of those protests demanded a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and called for universal background checks on potential gun owners.
During a pro-gun-rights gathering in Atlanta on Saturday, more than a quarter of the estimated 160 rally-goers carried weapons, as well as flags and signs saying ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ as they listened to speakers talk about the right to bear arms.
A few people wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ T-shirts showed up at the rally and made videos, but didn’t interact with the rally-goers.
Protesters also showed up in Boston; Indianapolis; Montpelier, Vermont; Albany, New York; Austin, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa; and other cities.
Gun rights activists with the National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans take part in a national rally in Albany, New York
Jason Desmond, of Lehi, rests his Winchester rifle, given to him by his grandfather, on his shoulder while attending a pro-gun rally on the steps of the State Capitol on Saturday in Salt Lake City
The coalition behind the gun rights rallies describes itself as a collection of patriotic-based groups that ‘come from all walks of life, including Three Percent groups and local militias.’
The Three Percent movement vows to resist any government that infringes on the U.S. Constitution.
Its name refers to the belief that just 3 percent of colonists rose up to fight the British.
Such groups lack the following of more mainstream Second Amendment advocates such as the National Rifle Association.
A group called the National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans spread word of the rallies on social media.